Kaup Beach on a rainy day is elemental. Unbroken grey of sky and sea is skirted by the white petticoat of swirling spume. The spume rises high, high, high and slaps against two giant rocks rising a few yards from the shore, before rushing to its inevitable end on the sandy stretch. Kaup is believed to be the watery equivalent of the strangers mothers warn their daughters against. Dangerously magnetic, it has, in the not too distant past, claimed two young lives. On a day like this, you know that settling for a single-digit statistic would be a rare act of generosity. The gripping run of the churning sea is halted by a man-made structure, the lighthouse built by the British in 1901. This 130-ft high structure emits its brilliance for 26 nautical miles. Pandurang, an old hand at the lighthouse, periodically walks up four long flights of dewy steps, up the five storeys right to the top, which contains the light. Visitors are allowed entry, he says, but not today. The ticket books which come from Mumbai have not yet arrived and we are deprived of our sliver of light. Also worth a visit is the Hosa Mariamma Temple, believed to be 200 years old and designed like an ancient home, only more elaborate. It houses a bronze statue of the tribal goddess, Mariamma, who is worshipped by three communities and is believed to protect the entire village from harm.

Just 7 km off Malpe Beach, from the swirling waters of the Arabian Sea rises a rocky natural formation. These are the basalt rocks where, if legend is to be believed, Vasco da Gama is supposed to have first dropped anchor, where the coconut palms yield water that is the sweetest in the world. Da Gama stayed here for a couple of days before heading further south where he was to make his first entry into Indian history at Kozhikode. True to form and in keeping with the Portuguese fetish for changing names, Tonse Par, as locals knew it, was rechristened St Mary's Isles. Why didn't he land in Malpe then? From St Mary's Isles, you can hardly trace human habitation. To da Gama, Malpe must have appeared as just an endless curtain of coconut palms, says George, the manager of Paradise Isle Beach Resort. Today, the endless curtain of the Malpe beachfront has seen its first construction in the form of this resort. Only the food court of the under-construction resort is functional, serving a variety of cuisines. For a quick bite, the mini-meal here is worth a try. It comprises small-sized idlis, dosa, uthappam and sheera. Malpe is 7 km west of Udupi. Boat rides (1/2 hr/ Rs 50 per head; 9 am-5 pm) are arranged by Raja Rajeshwari Tourist (Tel: 0820-2538779, 9844094479) and Anushka Tourist Boat (Tel: 2537072, 9845165266). You can't visit St Mary's Isles during the monsoon (May to early October).